There have been rumblings among some Cowboys fans about the possible return of Terrell Owens to Dallas. Like every team for which Owens has played, Cowboys fans seem to be split 50/50 on his worth to the team.

We are about the biggest T.O. supporters you will find, but in this post, we will detail five reasons why Owens won’t (and shouldn’t) rejoin the Dallas Cowboys.

First, though, let’s talk about a few of the positives of T.O. wearing the blue and silver once again.

Pros

1. Owens practices harder than anyone.

A lot of times T.O.’s name gets grouped together with guys like Randy Moss and Chad Ochocinco, but that really is unfair to Owens. Unlike those players, T.O. brings 100 percent to practice each and every day. He consistently prepares himself as well as anyone in the league, year in and year out.

Not only are Owens’ on-field behavior and production a template for the younger receivers to follow, but his work ethic also allows the Cowboys defensive backs to go against the best every day in practice. Don’t shortchange Owens involvement in Dallas as a major factor in the success of the Cowboys cornerbacks in 2009.

2. Despite a down year in Buffalo, it is evident Owens still has something left.

We recently spent some time looking at a few of the Bills’ late-season games in ’09. While T.O. is obviously not what he was at age 28, he certainly can still play the game. His speed is still very much apparent. It would be very difficult for teams to try to take away both him and Austin deep, cover Witten underneath, and still stop the run game.

3. T.O. would likely draw a lot of single coverage with Austin and Witten receiving a lot of attention.

Make no mistake about it–Miles Austin is the Cowboys’ #1 wide receiver. Defenses will surely look to take him and Witten out of a game first next season, with or without the addition of T.O. Having said that, Owens would benefit from single coverage which he very rarely saw during his first stint in Dallas.

Cons

1. Owens is unlikely to embrace a role as the third receiving option on offense.

For the above reasons, Owens’ return to Dallas looks good on paper. In reality, however, there is just no way T.O. is going to accept a role as the Cowboys’ third receiving option (and probably fourth option overall). If Owens complained about not getting the ball enough when he was double-covered in Dallas, imagine how unhappy he will be if he does not get the ball when he is truly open.

2. Bringing back Owens would stunt the growth of Kevin Ogletree.

The Cowboys want to get Ogletree more involved in 2010. There are even rumors that he could push Roy Williams for a starting spot in training camp.

Ogletree’s playing time would become all but non-existent, though, if Owens returned to the ‘Boys. Even if Williams got cut, Crayton would likely remain in the slot, meaning Ogletree would be just a backup to the X and Z receivers.

If the Cowboys want to see what they have in Kevin Ogletree this season, T.O.'s return is not an option.

3. The Cowboys would be unlikely to draft a young wide receiver due to a lack of roster space.

A lot of you are clamoring for the Cowboys to select a young wide receiver to groom as the eventual replacement for Roy Williams. While we still see an early-round selection of a wide receiver as unlikely (unless he is a return man), the Cowboys simply would not have the roster space to hold their current receivers, Owens, and a rookie.

4. Jerry Jones will not cut Roy Williams, meaning Dallas’ top three wide receivers would not play special teams.

Even if Owens came back to town, it is unlikely Jerry Jones would give up on Williams. He doesn’t want to admit he made a mistake on Williams, and in all fairness Roy has just one full season in Dallas under his belt.

Williams, as the third receiver, would not play special teams. This would create a problem, particularly if David Buehler does not win the placekicking job and the team has to use two roster spots on kickers.

5. Jerry Jones won’t bring back a player he cut immediately after claiming the Cowboys were searching for a “Romo-friendly” offense.

The reason Jones released T.O. was not because of his on-field play, but because of the perceived locker room turmoil which Owens was thought to have created. Why in the world would the Cowboys bring back a player they deemed to be the cause of the team’s lack of chemistry, particularly after winning their first playoff game in over a decade?

Conclusion

Owens is not coming back to Dallas. Despite the potential benefits, his return would create more problems than it would fix. Topping that list of problems is the fact that T.O. will not embrace being a role player and Jerry Jones will not disrupt his quest to create a “Romo-friendly” offense.

Despite this, we still suggest to all Cowboys fans, “Getcha popcorn ready!”

17 Responses to Terrell Owens Back to Dallas: Is it a Realistic Possibility?

Great article. I predicted that he would come back if the Cowboys lost their playoff game against the Eagles or fire either Phillips or Garrett. Neither happened so my 3rd scenario was if they resign Miles Austin because bringing T.O. back will give him the one on one matchups that he rarely saw in Dallas.

What I do believe is that T.O. now is different from T.O. in Dallas mentally. I think his stint in Buffalo was a wake up call to him that he can not make an average QB great and that teams that let him go can move on. I also believe he appreciates his former QB’s for helping him get his numbers.You can see he appreciated McNabb during his time in Philly and I know he appreciates Romo and Garcia more than he ever did after last season.

I love TO, he’s one of my favorite active players (him and Ray Lewis are tied), I never got the hatred for him. All of his complaints seemed legit (except for calling Jeff Garcia gay, whether he is nor not, his personal life is not our business…and so what if he is gay?) Garcia didn’t have the arm strength necessary, McNabb played like crap in the Superbowl while Owens played the game of his life with a broken foot, and in the 08 game against Pittsburgh Romo threw a pick-6 at Witten while he was covered and Owens was open…and relied on Witten too much anyways. Love the guy would like him back despite these complaints.

Good insights Omar. I also love T.O., but I just don’t think the time is right anymore. Obviously you see my justifications above. It isn’t like if they re-signed Owens I would be furious or anything. Now is Austin’s time though.

I’m no fan of the drama, but the guy walks the walk. The only question with the guy is attitude. He probably prepares better than 95% of the league. He drops a few, but he makes plays. IMO he would help Miles and Miles would help him. We definitely need production opposite Miles or teams will just double him. With T.O. and Miles either one can take it to the house. Sadly, I agree, It will never happen. Seems to me he would be the perfect Raider.

I THINK IT THE BEST THAT T.O RETURN TO DALLAS AS 3TH WR BECAUSE CREATING MORE WORK FOR DEF BACK TO COVER LIKE WE HAVE AUSTIN AND WE HAVE ROOKIE WR BRYANT SO IF YOU PUT T.O INSIDE IT AND IT LIKE A ROAD TO SUPERBOWL END OF STORY. LOOK AT MIAMI HEAT(NBA) HAVE POWER 3 WHY CANT WE HAVE POWER 3 WR ? SO THERE IS NO STORY ABOUT NEG HOW T.O FIT RETURN TO COWBOYS, HE MIGHT ACCEPT LESS MONEY BUT HE WILL WANT BRING AMERICA TEAN BACK WHERE THEY BELONG AND JERRY WILL BE BIGGEST SUCCESSFUL OWNER THAT WIN MUILT SUPERBOWL THAN OTHER NFL OWNER WHY CANT YA’LL GIVE A RISK TRY!!!! BY THE WAY SORRY FOR WILLIAMS HE ANIT FIT FOR DALLAS PERIOD! SOMEBODY SENT JERRY JONES THIS MESSAGE A TRUE FAN WANT SUPERBOWL

Jerry Jones made a huge mistake the day he released Mr. Terrell Owens, take a good look at what has happened to the Dallas Cowboys before and after the release of this great competitor – how many wide recievers do you need inorder to replace The Great Terrell Owens? and even at his age the lot of them still do not add up on or off the field.